Moonlight Rising
by Rory Carlisle
Summary: James Potter likes girls. Too bad he can't get the one girl he wants. With the help of his three best friends, James sets off to win the heart of the fair Lily Evans. Set in the Maurader's years at Hogwarts.
1. Chapter 1: On the Train

-1Chapter One: The First Day At Hogwarts

James stood, staring at the massive scarlet train engine and frowned. He was wondering how exactly he was supposed to deal with his trunk and find pretty girls at the same time when someone ran into him from behind.

"Oh, sorry." Came a petulant girl's voice. James turned around to see a short girl with flaming red hair wheeling her trunk away, arguing with a small, black-haired girl. He watched her leave and thought musingly to himself, _Hmm…she's not bad…a bit rude, really, but…_

"James, are you going to stand there staring at whatever it is that you're staring at, or are you going to get on?"

James' mother gave him a little push. He nearly tripped over his case. "Mum!"

"Well, when you stand there staring into space, you're going to get run over." Elias Potter ambled up and slipped an arm around his wife's shoulders. "Katherine, is he ready?"

"Almost." Katherine said, leaning against Elias.

"I'm right here, you know." James huffed.

"We know. Now, James, you be good, all right? And _don't_-" his father said sternly, but there was a slight twinkling in his eyes. "-get into any trouble, especially on your first day. All right?"

"Yes, Dad." James said, excitement rushing through him. He really was going to school on this magnificent train! A school for special people, like him. James bounced on the soles of his feet, hardly able to contain himself.

His mother gave him a hug and kissed his cheek. 'Have fun, sweetie." she said, grinning, as James wiped off his cheek furiously, glancing around to make sure no on had seen that display of obvious affection. _"Mum..!"_

The train whistle blew and steam billowed from the intimidating scarlet engine. James said goodbye to his parents and clambered onto the Hogwarts Express just in time.

As it started to chug away, slowly gaining speed, James stood and waved through the doors until he could no longer see his parents. Then, dropping his arm, James looked around. The tiny, cramped corridor had different compartments on either side, filled with chattering older years and nervous looking first years. He dragged his trunk noisily behind him, looking for an empty compartment when at last he arrived at one near the back. There was only one lone figure in it, and he looked fascinating to James. Slumped down in the seat, he was on the shorter side, with longish, black hair and dark, intelligent eyes. He was playing with a small gold ring.

"Hello." James said, opening the door.

The boy looked up. "H-Hello." he said uncertainly, as if he wasn't sure he was being talked to.

"I'm James Potter." Crashing into the seat opposite, James thrust out a hand to the boy.

The boy's face lit up as a grin crossed his features. "I'm Sirius." he said, shaking his hand firmly. "Sirius Black."

"Nice to meet you. So, are you a first year, then?" James asked, as he sank down in the rather comfortable seat, linking his hands behind his head.

"Yeah." Sirius said. "Although I-"

They were interrupted by the compartment door sliding open. A small, delicately featured girl with deep, rippling red hair peered in. James recognized her as the one who'd accidentally run into him back at the station.

"Hello." she said in a small, musical voice which James found quite pleasing. "May I sit here? The rest of the train is full."

James was about to offer her the seat next to him, but Sirius stood up first. "Take mine." he said, moving over to sit next to James.

"Thanks." The girl slipped inside, dragging her trunk in along with her. She stowed it above the seat without any trouble and then turned and sat down in the seat. She didn't look too happy to be there, and scooted over so that she was pressed against the window, staring out at the countryside flying by. James was horrified to see tears starting to well up in her eyes. He leaned forward.

"Hey," he said. "I'm James Potter. This is Sirius Black."

She didn't turn her head. "Lily Evans."

James was about to ask her something else when the door to the compartment again slid open. This time the visitor was a small, scrawny boy with overlong, ink-black hair, black eyes, and a sallow, pallid looking face. He had already changed into his too-large Hogwarts robes.

Without paying attention to either James or Sirius, he strode across the small space and sat down facing the girl. She sniffed, wiping at her eyes. "I don't wanna talk to you." she mumbled.

"Come on, Lily." the boy pleaded. "Why not?"

She shifted closer to the window, obviously trying to hide her tears. "Tuney is mad at me. She hates me because we saw that letter from the headmaster, Dumbledore."

James listened with rapt attention. Who was this little dirt bag of a person? He looked as if he had been half starved.

"It doesn't matter, Lily!" the boy was saying, his whole face lighting up with elation. "Lily, we're going to _Hogwarts! _It's finally happening! We've been waiting for this!"

Lily gave a swipe to her eyes and then nodded, a small smile appearing on her lovely face. "Yes, we are."

"Slytherin is the best," the boy continued excitedly. "You better be in there-"

"That's terrible!" James interrupted. They both turned to stare at him. "Slytherin is a terrible House to be in. It's all full of dark wizards. If I was in Slytherin, I think I'd leave, right?" He snickered, nudging Sirius.

Sirius, however, just looked resentful and gloomy. "All of my family ended up in Slytherin." he grumbled unhappily.

"Merlin's beard," James said, astonished. "You don't _seem _like a horrible person."

Sirius smiled back at him. "That's because I'm not. Well, not really. What House do you want to be in?"

James grinned and pretended to be dueling someone with a sword. "Gryffindor, of course! The bravest! My dad was in it, and I expect to be in it too!"

There was the smallest of noises from the black-haired boy across from Lily. James glared at him. "Is there something wrong with that?"

"No," said the boy, although there was a small sneer on his pale face. "It's just that the Slytherins are _intelligent_, whereas the Gryffindors are just some supposedly brave-"

"Well, considering that you're _neither," _Sirius drawled, smirking. "-where do _you _think you'll go?"

James gave a roar of laughter. The boy's face reddened and his skinny shoulders slumped.

Lily stood up then, dislike etched deeply across her face. "Let's find a different place to be, Severus. Come on." she sent a look of loathing at James and Sirius as she passed. James, on the spur of the moment, stuck out his leg and tried to trip the boy called Severus. He stumbled, but to James' disappointment, did not fall.

James turned back to Sirius, who mouthed the word _"Snivellus!" _to him.

"Bye, _Snivellus!" _James cried loudly. "Have a good time in _Slytherin!"_

There was no reply. Lily and the boy Severus had either gotten out of hearing range, or were ignoring him.

Sirius was laughing. "James," he said, his dark eyes filled with amusement. "I think you and I are going to be really good friends."

James nodded in agreement. He grinned as if the two of them were already old friends.

The rest of the train ride was otherwise uneventful. As the sky darkened, and their destination grew nearer, James, as well as Sirius, could be found with their faces pressed against the cool glass, desperate for a glimpse of the castle. They had long since changed into their black school robes and were now eagerly anticipating their stay at Hogwarts.

"I think I saw something!" James cried, turning his head sideways against the window. "Something light!"

"Where? Lemme see!" Sirius pushed James aside and peered out of the window. "I don't see anything."

"It's over _th-" _James broke off as the train suddenly emerged and before them stood the massive, imposing black castle of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

The castle was intimidating. That was James' first thought. The second thought mostly revolved around the fact that he had never seen such a grand building. The castle was black at this time of night, it's turreted walls and towers looming over the train like a monster. Its many windows, tiny from James and Sirius's distance, were all lit up and flickering, an eerie yellow and orange glow in the pitch darkness. Next to the castle, a dark, churning lake was frothing and spilling along the bank. James could have sworn he saw something move in it.

The next second the train had stopped and there was a jumble of movement and a babble of excited voices and James and Sirius stood up and looked at each other eagerly.

"Leave your baggage on the train. It will be taken care of." a brisk voice instructed. The source, James could not see, but he and Sirius did as they were told and left their trunks where they were. As they squished their way out into the throngs of people still left on the train, James turned to Sirius and said "Where do you reckon you'll be put?"

"What house-oof! you mean?" Sirius responded, grimacing as a fifth year girl elbowed him in the stomach. "I dunno. Probably Slytherin." His face grew slightly red. "Although if there's anything I can do _not _to be put in Slytherin, you'll bet your you-know-what I'll be doing it."

James chuckled. He could see the doorway off the train a short distance away. Now, if only he could reach it…

"Ouch!"

James had misjudged the distance. He slipped and fell down the steps off of the train and landed in a heap on the cold stone floor of the station.

There was the sound of laughter. James looked up to see Lily Evans and her friend, Severus, hurriedly covering their mouths to hide their grins. James felt his face grow hot, and still snickering, the two ambled off.

Gritting his teeth, James clambered to his feet, brushing off his robes. Sirius hopped off the train and landed with a small _thunk_ on the ground beside him.

"Buncha goody two shoes." Sirius muttered, glaring after Lily and Severus. "Come on, James, let's go."

"Where?" James asked, looking around.

"Er….there, I think…" Sirius sounded unsure of himself as he pointed.

James looked to where he was looking and felt a surge of alarm followed by a feeling of slight terror. An enormously tall man with a long, rugged beard was waving his arm enthusiastically. James guessed that he had to be at least ten feet tall. He was _huge, _not just in height, but all around.

"Firs' years over here!" the giant called. "Firs' years over here!'

"Who is _that?" _James whispered frantically to Sirius.

"I have no idea!" Sirius hissed back, seeming just as frightened.

The two boys walked over with the rest of the first years to the huge man. He beamed down at them, his face surprisingly pleasant beneath the bushy beard.

"I'm Hagrid, Hogwarts' gamekeeper. We're gonna go 'cross the lake to get to the castle. All righ'? Everyone, follow me!"

He motioned to them and then set off along a somewhat rocky embankment to the billowing black lake. Small, four-person boats were all neatly lined up on the shore. James eyed them a little nervously, then squared his shoulders and marched down to the first boat he saw and climbed in. Sirius climbed in after him.

They were followed by a tall, thin young man with short, pale brown hair and pale blue eyes. There were dark circles under his eyes, as if he hadn't slept well in a while.

"Mind if I join you?" he asked in a tired voice.

James and Sirius shook their heads, and the boy slipped down into the boat. Almost immediately after he had done so, another boy appeared. This one was short, and small, with lank blonde hair, watery blue eyes and what seemed to be somewhat elongated front teeth.

"C-Can I come in?" he chattered nervously. "A-All the other boats are f-full…"

"Get in." James said, not in an unkind way. The boy gave him a grateful smile and stepped into the boat, causing it to rock precariously. He sat down quickly. "I-I'm Peter. Peter Pettigrew."

"James Potter." said James loftily. He jerked a finger at Sirius. "And this here is Sirius Black."

"Nice to meet you." said the brown haired boy. "I'm Remus Lupin." He yawned widely and exhaustedly. "Pardon me." he said, covering his mouth. "I haven't been sleeping well lately."

James wasn't paying attention. He had just caught a flash of red hair in the next boat over. Lily Evans was sitting with Severus again, along with two other people, a girl with short brown hair and a man with blonde hair and green eyes. Severus, James noted with glee, looked distinctly uncomfortable at the other two people's presence. He was fidgeting slightly, playing with the hem of his oversize robes.

With a sudden lurch, the boats started to move forward. James caught the edge of it, and peered over the side. The lake was too dark to tell what was beneath its inky black depths.

The boats glided closer and closer towards Hogwarts until they bumped against the opposite shore. James gratefully clambered out of it; he had never been one for sailing.

They stood now, at the bottom of a small hill, on top of which the imposing Hogwarts Castle towered. The gamekeeper, Hagrid, led them up the hill and to a set of massive oak doors, which were open wide, light from inside spilling out onto the grounds. A tall figure stood by them, hat tipped to the side.

"All righ' there, professor?" Hagrid called.

The figure stepped forward. "Yes, thank you." Her voice was low and curt. "I will take them from here."

"All righ'." Hagrid waved cheerily and disappeared beyond the doors. The woman turned and whisked after her, calling back behind her, "Follow me, please."

The first years all trundled into the corridor. James was looking in fifteen different places at once. The castle entrance hall was enormous, with elaborate stone walls and hundreds of different paintings hung on either side. A set of stone steps were positioned a little while away, leading up into the most complex looking sets of staircases that James had ever seen. Across from the main stairs, there was another set of giant oak doors. These ones were shut tightly.

The woman turned around. Her face was narrow and pointed, her raven black hair pulled tightly into a knot at the base of her neck. A pair of spectacles were set on her nose, and her hawk's eyebrows were pointed low.

"I am Professor McGonagall." she said, and there was a small titter from the crowd, which she silenced immediately with a single look. "I am the Transfiguration teacher here at Hogwarts. While you are at this school, you are expected to maintain a sense of dignity and respect to those in it. Understood?" Her dark eyes glinted in the candlelight. There was a murmur of consent and head nodding among the first years; most were too terrified by the professor to speak out loud.

"Great, just what we need." James whispered to Sirius. "An old, mean hag."

Sirius snorted with laughter, but hastily turned it into a cough as McGonagall's eagle eyes snapped in their direction.

"You will be led into the Great Hall in just a few moments." Professor McGonagall went on, still glaring at James and Sirius. "There, you will participate in the Sorting Ceremony to determine which House you will be in. Afterwards, you are instructed to go sit at your designated House table, after which your prefects will tell you what to do from then on."

There was a great booming noise and then the massive oak doors slowly creaked open.

A jolt of eager anticipation shot through James' spine and he was unable to keep a grin from appearing on his face. It seemed as if his new friend was feeling the same, for as James turned to look at him, Sirius looked back, his smile wide, his eyes filled with expectations. Then his face fell slightly.

"What if I get into Slytherin?" he muttered to James urgently, as the crowd of first years slowly made its way in through the doors. "I can't-I don't know what I'll do."

James patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry, Sirius. No matter what House you're in, I'll still be your friend. Even if you _are_ a weirdo."

Sirius smiled and they stepped forward into the Great Hall.


	2. Chapter 2: A Bad? Beginning

-1Chapter 2: A Bad Beginning

The Great Hall was enormous. Four long, wooden House tables set in a line took up most of the room, and the remaining space was filled with an elongated table where James supposed the teachers were seated. His gaze swept over the other professors and landed on the figure seated in the very center.

He was tall, immensely so, but not nearly as tall as the gamekeeper Hagrid, but he seemed just as towering. Covering the rest of his was an extraordinary, sweeping grey beard. Half-moon spectacles sat at the end of a rather crooked nose, and he sat leaning forward, his pointed chin resting on his steepled fingers. He gazed out across the room with a muted interest, his clear blue eyes scanning the room.

James knew at once that this was the headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. His parents had often spoke of him as a teacher in their time. He turned to nudge Sirius who was next to him, but in the next moment, the Sorting Ceremony had started. They were instructed to go up alphabetically. James watched disinterestedly until at last, "Black, Sirius!" was called.

Looking slightly sick, Sirius stepped forward reluctantly, and the old, brown Sorting Hat was plunked on his head. James crossed his fingers and bounced on his feet, trying to see Sirius over the crowd, of people, hoping, hoping…

"GRYFFINDOR!" the hat roared and James let out a yell of happiness before he knew what he was doing, but it could hardly be heard over the thunderous applause from the Gryffindor table anyway. The hat was taken from Sirius's head, and an immensely relieved and happy look had replaced the sickened one. He practically ran to the table, where he was greeted with slaps on the back and cheers.

The Sorting went on, until the name "Evans, Lily!" was shouted. James whipped his head around so fast he almost got a crick in his neck.

Tiny Lily Evans strode forward, her face set. Out of the corner of his eye, James saw Severus looking at her with anticipation, biting his lip. James snorted. _What a loser._

Lily sat down on the seat and Professor McGonagall dropped the hat onto her head. It had barely touched her deep red hair when it announced proudly, "GRYFFINDOR!"

There was another smattering of applause and cheers, and to James' trained ear, a small groan of dismay. He turned to see Severus looking downcast. Lily's gaze strayed over to the skinny boy and she too had a small frown on her face. James clenched his fists involuntarily. He saw Sirius nudge down to make room for her, but Lily gave him a dirty look and sat down, her back to him. Sirius glanced back at James, who shrugged.

When "Lupin, Remus!" was also Sorted into Gryffindor, James couldn't help but smile. He had rather liked the sleepy-eyed, tall boy.

After some agonizing moments and after "Pettigrew, Peter!" was called into Gryffindor as well, finally the name "Potter, James!" was called.

Anticipation running through him, as well as a massive wave nervousness, James strode forward, trying to look like he didn't care. He sat down on the small, four-legged stool in the center of the Hall, and Professor McGonagall walked over with the Sorting Hat. She placed it on top of his unruly black hair.

"Ah…" said a voice in his head. "Ah, yes. Such potential here…I can tell that you're going to be quite the young man…well…we better put you in GRYFFINDOR!"

Relief coursed through James as malleable as water. He jumped up and grinned, dashing towards the Gryffindor table.

"Well, done James!" Sirius roared, clapping a thin hand on his shoulder. "I knew you could do it!"

Remus Lupin also leaned forward and shook James' hand. "Congratulations." he said, barely concealing a yawn.

"Thanks!" James climbed onto the bench, squeezing next to Lupin and Peter Pettigrew, as the seat beside Sirius was taken by the fierce Lily, who was still pointedly ignoring the both of them. Her impassive face showed no indication of any joy at James' being Sorted into the same House as she, but instead stared forward with a kind of grim disposition.

"Hey, Evans." James whispered. "Look, we're in the same House! Aren't you just overjoyed?"

She let out a derisive snort and didn't reply. Sirius snickered, but Remus Lupin frowned.

When "Snape, Severus" was finally called, James saw the first signs of life in Lily. She sat up, her eyes eager, not realizing that she was clenching her hands in her lap. James crossed his arms over his chest in annoyance.

"SLYTHERIN!" the Sorting Hat crowed barely a moment after it had landed on Severus's head. There were cheers of approval from the green and silver Slytherin table, and Severus skulked off to join them. Lily's shoulders drooped unhappily.

"Awww, missing little Snivellus?" James said, grinning. He poked her shoulder, and she slapped his hand away so fast that he didn't even see it. "Ouch!"

Lily turned to face him, her cheeks red with anger. "Can't you just leave us both alone, you mean, stupid brat?" she snarled, green eyes flashing. "We haven't done anything to you, you know. Don't talk to me ever again."

With that, she got up and flounced away, her red curls bouncing with every step. James stared after her, massaging his stinging hand. _What a hothead! _He thought, turning towards Sirius, who just shrugged again.

After the Sorting Ceremony and after dinner had been served and cleared away, and the waistband of James' jeans was feeling uncomfortably tight under his cloak, he, Sirius, Remus, and Peter were all led away by the Gryffindor prefects. Their dorm prefect, a tall boy with blonde hair, blue eyes, and an encouraging smile was named Justin Callum.

"This way, come along, it's just up along here." Justin led them up several flights of stairs and down a few corridors before they came to a stop in front of an enormous portrait of a very large woman in pink.

"Password?" she intoned, looking rather bored.

"Pensieve." Justin said clearly, and the woman in the portrait nodded, swinging open on her frame to reveal a circular entranceway.

"Come on through." Justin motioned then all through, and wide-eyed with wonder, James climbed into the Gryffindor common room.

It was filled with comfortable chintz armchairs and mismatched pillows. A roaring fire was crackling merrily in the handsome stone fireplace and a large bulletin board was hung on one of the walls, several notices posted to it already. On either side of the room were two staircases, both leading up to the girls' and boys' dormitories.

"All right then, up to your rooms, let's go. Up to sleep." Justin ushered the first group of first year boys up the stone staircase on the left. It wound up until they at last reached a sturdy wooden door, which James pushed open eagerly.

It was a small room, with four matching four-poster beds set in each corner and a glass window set in the wall. It was warm and cozy and James loved the feeling of belonging.

"This is tiny." Sirius observed, stepping in behind James. "Ah, oh well. I claim that bed closest to the window!"

"And I'll take the one by that wall." James walked over to find his trunk neatly stashed under the bed. "Wow, that's so cool! All of our stuff is up already!"

"Hey." said a voice from the door, and Remus Lupin walked in, followed by the quivering Peter Pettigrew. "Looks like we'll be sharing a dorm together." He yawned again. "Oh, there's my stuff."

"He-hello." Peter said. He climbed on top of the last bed and sat cross-legged on it, looking around at the group.

James had a feeling that this was going to be a very good year at Hogwarts.

"Dungbombs, anyone?" Sirius asked wickedly, holding up a bag.

_Yes, a very good year indeed, _James thought.


	3. Chapter 3: The Game

**Chapter 3: The Game**

James found that he could adapt rather well to his surroundings at Hogwarts. His first few days were filled with happy memories and his rapidly growing friendships with Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew had extended so much that the four boys were rarely seen out of each other's company. In the teacher's eyes, the friendship was utterly astonishing. Quiet, studious Remus; nervous, anxious Peter; sarcastic and rebellious Sirius; and highly intelligent, but also prideful James. He was respectful towards his professors, and did all of his homework, but there was just something about him that was slightly out of place.

As the weeks passed on, and trees of the dark forest on the edge of the castle grounds began to lose their leaves, James Potter was becoming steadily aware of a problem he could not seem to solve. And that problem was named Lily Evans and Severus Snape.

James couldn't put his finger on why he was so interested in the pair. As much as he and his three friends were never more than a few feet away from each other, Lily and Severus were also inseparable. James often saw the two of them sitting next to each other during meals, although they were from different Houses, and was annoyed to spot them huddled together in the library on more than one occasion. He couldn't figure out what Lily saw in the scrawny black haired boy, just as he couldn't figure out what it was that so fascinated him about her.

"Just admit it." Sirius said one evening when the four of them were sitting in the Gryffindor common room. "You like her."

"I don't _like _her." James said, scribbling out yet another line in his Potions essay. "_Damn _that idiotSlughorn for making us write an entire _foot_ of parchment on the chemical properties of the_ Felix Felicis _potion…"

"Why then, if you don't like her, do you talk about her so much?" Sirius asked, not even bothering with his own paper. It lay, barely half finished, in front of him.

"Yeah, I've wondered that too." Remus said from where he was curled up in an armchair by the fire, reading a book. He had long since finished his own essay. "If you like her, just admit it. We're your friends, we won't make fun of you."

"Not _too _much anyway." Sirius grinned.

James gave up on the essay and crumpled the parchment into a ball, tossing it into the fire. It instantly curled in the flames and the edges of it turned black, then crumbled into ashes. "I don't _like _her." he said again, linking his hands behind his head. "Lily Evans is just an obnoxious, mean-spirited, Slytherin-loving, bratty goody two shoes."

Remus had been making the oddest expression through all of this and had started shaking his head rapidly. "What?" James asked irritably.

"Oh, a goody two shoes, am I?" came an annoyed girl's voice from about an inch behind him.

James spun around. Lily was standing with her arms folded across her chest, her brows drawn down, her mouth twisted in an angry grimace.

"Ob-_noxious, _am I?" she muttered, stalking towards him with each word. "_Mean-spirited, _am I? A_ Slytherin-lover, _am I? _BRATTY, am I?"_

James gritted his teeth, trying not to show that he was slightly intimidated. "Yes." he said. "Yes, you are."

Her hand moved so fast that James didn't even see it coming. Her palm connected with the side of his face in a ringing _smack! _that echoed throughout the half-empty common room.

There was a moment of dead silence while James stared in shock at Lily, one hand having gone up automatically to cover his stinging, reddened cheek.

"You are the most arrogant, cold-hearted _jerk, _and the next time you decide to insult me, James Potter, you better be prepared for the consequences."

And with that, Lily whirled and stomped up the stairs to the girls' dormitories.

"That…that…" Without thinking, James started to run up after her, intent on giving her a piece of his mind, but to his shock, the stairs beneath him gave an odd, squelching noise and suddenly melted down together to form a long slide. James flailed his arms, but to no avail. He slid all the way back down into the common room and landed in a heap on the floor.

There were shouts of laughter. Face burning, James stood and brushed off his robes, trying to make it seem like he wasn't bothered by it. Internally, however, his insides were boiling with rage. How dare she embarrass him like that?

It didn't help that Sirius was practically rolling on the ground with laughter, tears of mirth in his eyes.

"Oh, if you could have seen your face." he gasped out. "It was _brilliant, _absolutely _priceless._"

"Shut up, you." James said, aiming a kick at him, but Sirius just ducked out of the way, still chortling.

"Well…I did try to warn you." Remus said, turning another page of his book. James could see that he was trying very hard not to burst out laughing.

"That was very mean of her, though!" Peter squeaked, eyes darting towards the slide the stairs had morphed into. "To just h-hit you like that, with no warning…"

"Oh, I'd say he had plenty of warning." Remus said.

"I'm going to bed." James announced angrily and stomped upstairs to his dormitory.

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After Lily's outburst, James made a point of ignoring her whenever he saw her. It wasn't as hard as he had thought, since she was obviously ignoring him as well.

One day, late into the month of February, after the Christmas and New Year's holidays had passed, James found himself once again wondering about the red-haired girl. It had now been almost three months since they had last spoken, and he was growing tired of their little game of pretending the other didn't exist. He settled for cornering her in the library.

"What do you want?" she snapped at him.

James was almost relieved that she had answered him with words, and not the thick, heavy book she was holding in her hands.

"I've got a deal for you, Evans." he said, keeping his voice light. This had to go his way, or it wasn't going to work.

"What sort of a deal?" she asked suspiciously. "I don't want to make a deal with _you."_

The snide and disgusted way she had said _"you" _almost broke James' resolve not to get angry. Forcing his annoyance away, he said "Yes, but you'll like this kind of deal."

Lily slammed the book on the table, and James jumped involuntarily. Crossing her arms across her chest, she glared at him. "Talk."

"Well, you want me off your case, so why not make a game out of it?" James said. "It's simple. At the end of the school year, whoever has gotten the most points will win. That gives us almost four months exactly."

"And how exactly do we get these points?" Lily asked, her eyes still narrowed.

James smirked. "By adding people to your team. At the end of the year, there will be a duel, and whoever has the most people on their team will win, obviously."

"And what in the world could possibly me incite me to join such a lame competition?" Lily asked.

James was feeling more annoyed by the second. What kind of first year witch talked like that? It was like she was twenty one instead of eleven.

"Because you join and you win, I will promise that I will never, ever make fun of you again, nor will I call you names or try and trip you or anything like that. I will leave you completely alone. Plus, I'll buy you a book." He hadn't noticed her love of reading for nothing.

She stared at him for a moment, then said. "And Severus."

James thought he had misheard her. "What?" he said.

Lily lifted her chin high. "You will leave Severus alone as well if I win."

James' jaw dropped. "You're not serious." he said. "Leave that little-"

"If you want me to join your stupid competition, then you will leave Severus alone too. It's that or nothing." Lily picked up her book and hugged it to her chest, but her strong, clear green eyes never left James'.

He gritted his teeth. It pained him to do so, but he had to do it. "Fine."

She smirked at him. "Then I'm in."

James nodded, and had turned away to leave when she said "What about you?"

He stopped and looked back at her. "What?"

"What do you get if _you_ win?"

A slow grin spread across James' face. "That, Evans, is a secret."

And James walked out of the library, mischievous plans whirling in his head.


	4. Chapter 4: What's In A Name?

**Thank you so much for reading and your reviews! I really appreciate it quite a lot. :) I'll definietly keep updating, as long as you guys keep reading. So enjoy!**

**...and James' plan is about to go awry... ;3**

**Chapter 4: What's In A Name..?**

"The rules for the game are as follows:

"Number one. All team members joining must join of their own free will. Any manner of persuasion is acceptable, with the exception of using a spell to coerce them, bribery, or threats.

"Number two. Only James Potter may recruit members for his team, and only Lily Evans may recruit members for hers. No one else may do it.

"Number three. No manner of cheating is allowed. Any cheating will immediately result in the disqualification of the team, and the other team will be declared the winner.

"In order to win the duel, the other team must render the other team unable to fight. This duel will take place on the third of June, after the final exams have taken place.

"The judges of the game are as follows: Remus John Lupin, of Gryffindor; Margaret Jessica Witherspoon, of Hufflepuff; Aurora Padma Patil, of Ravenclaw; and Lucius Thomas Malfoy, of Slytherin-"

"Wait." James interrupted. _"Lucius Malfoy? _Are you _serious? _That guy's a real jerk."

Sirius shrugged. "He was the only Slytherin that would do it, and we needed a judge from all Houses, otherwise it would seem unfair. Remus would have a cow if we didn't make everything fair."

"But he's a _prefect." _James pressed. "Don't you think that he's going to do something to get us in trouble?"

"Relax." Sirius said. "He's signed an oath of secrecy."

"Oath of secrecy." James muttered. "Oath of secrecy my-"

"Now who are you calling names this time?" Remus asked as he ambled up to where James and Sirius sat at the breakfast table, Peter in tow.

"Lucius Malfoy." James muttered. "Why'd you have to pick _him,_ Remus? He's an arrogant toerag."

"Of course he's an arrogant toerag." Remus said mildly, helping himself to a generous portion of porridge. "But he's the only one who would do it. He's not going to tell because it will reflect badly on him."

"How will it make _him _look bad?" James demanded.

"Well, not really him, per say." Lupin said. "But Slytherin. There are Slytherins on Lily's team. If he tells, then he has to admit that his House has been participating in the game."

"Ohhhh…" James, Peter, and Sirius all nodded simultaneously in understanding. Remus rolled his eyes.

"Honestly, you three…sometimes I think you have corks for brains."

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The game between Lily and James had started off small; now it had grown to mammoth proportions. Almost every Gryffindor student knew about it, and half of Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff as well. The Slytherins could have cared less, were it not for the fact that one of their own had joined in the game. Severus Snape had joined Lily's side, naturally, so the Slytherins, although still arrogant and mean, were supporting (if that's what you could call not making fun of it, like they did James' team) Lily's side.

James' team had grown substantially. It now included many of the older students, as well as a few recruits from Ravenclaw. Justin Callum, the Gryffindor prefect, had turned a blind eye and deaf ear to any mention of the game, but had also blatantly refused to join any team.

_"No, _James, I'm not supporting your team." he said once again as he was relaxing in the Gryffindor common room one evening in March. "I've already told you. I'm not going to report you for this little thing you've got going on, but I've already said I'm not joining sides."

"But Justin," James pleaded. "You're a fifth year! You know loads more than any of us when it comes to spells and such! You're brilliant!"

James had hoped that a little sucking up would help his cause, but Justin just smiled and shook his head. "I'm flattered, Jas," he said, using the nickname he had coined for him. "But the answer will still be no."

James' shoulders drooped. "All right, then. Thanks anyway."

As he turned away, James could have sworn he saw Justin hiding a laugh.

Sighing, James headed out of the common room, and out to the empty classroom that his team was meeting in. It was only a little after six, so they had some time to go over some things before curfew.

Pushing open the heavy wooden doors, James was almost surprised to see how many people were crowded into the small room. At least twenty or so people were scattered around, either lounging on the floor, or standing in groups. He grinned to himself. _And I'm only a first year! Man, just think of how it'll be seventh year…the girls will be flocking..!_

A loud throat clearing brought James back to the moment at hand. Remus was looking at him, one eyebrow raised.

James coughed. "Er…hello, everyone."

There was a chorus of greetings back. James noticed that a significant number of the first years involved were girls…he had no problem with that, as long as they could help him win. And that they were cute. Which most of them were.

"Thanks for coming, you guys." James said. "Now, as you've obviously heard, Lily Evans and myself have come up with a little…er…what should we call this?"

"How about 'The Lover's Duel?'" someone suggested, and there was a smattering of laughter.

James smiled in spite of himself. "No, that's not the case at all. We need to come up with a good name for the game. And our team, for that matter."

"How about we call the game the Destiny Duel, and we call our team 'Potter's Patrol,' since it was his idea?" A second year girl with short, pale blonde hair asked.

Everyone turned to stare at her. James felt a grin spread across his cheeks. "Why, Alice," he said. "That is a perfectly wonderful idea."

She grinned back. "Thank you."

"So!" James clapped his hands together. "Let's get started shall we? Now, some of the older years have offered to teach us younger years some basic offensive and defensive spells. So if you're one of the ones who offered to help teach, stand over there, and the rest of us, stand over here."

It was a very productive evening. By the time seven-thirty rolled around, James felt quite a lot better about the Destiny Duel than he had previously.

"Same time next week!" he called to people as they left, waving. "And let's practice with those Stunning spells, okay?"

There was the general murmur of consent and then slowly, the room emptied until James was left standing with Sirius, Remus and Peter.

"Well." Sirius said, his arms folded across his chest. "I'm pretty sure that grin of yours is going to split your face open. You might want to watch out for that."

"Guys," James said, his mind whirling. "We are _so _going to kick Evans'-"

"I wouldn't get too ahead of yourself." Remus said. "Lily isn't stupid.. In fact, she's really quite intelligent. I wouldn't underestimate her."

"You sound as if you actually _talk _to her." James grumbled, picking up his bag from the floor.

"Well," said Remus. "Actually, I do talk to her."

James ran into the closed door he had meant to open. He smacked his nose against the hard wood.

Sirius burst out laughing, and Peter just smiled nervously.

"You _what?" _James said nasally, rubbing his noise furiously.

"You know, you really should _open _doors before you go through them." Remus said, the corners of his mouth twitching as if he were holding back a smile. "Might hurt less that way."

"Shut up. You _what?" _James asked again.

"I talk to Lily Evans." Remus said. "She's actually quite interesting. Did you know she knows all this neat stuff about the other wizarding schools? It's fascinating; there's this one called Durmstrang-"

"You're fraternizing with the enemy!" James bellowed through his injured nose. "What is _wrong _with you? Are you _mental?_"

To James' shock, Remus flushed, his eyebrows narrowing. He looked…_hurt?_

"For your information, James Potter," he snapped, eyes blazing. "The world, as much as you like to think so, does _not_ revolve around you or your silly little game."

And with that, Remus turned and stalked out of the room, James staring in confusion after him.


	5. Chapter 5: Answers

**-gasps-**

**YES, I am ALIVE.**

**Sorry it's been so long. I haven't had a working computer. -dies- So I made this chapter really long to try and make up for the lack of updating-ness. Forgive meeee!**

**Ahhh it's getting good... ;D**

**p.s...I love reviews. **

**:)  
**

**Chapter 5: An Answer to the Unasked Question**

James sat with his back against the door to his dormitory and rubbed his face.

"Remus." he said, for possibly the thirtieth time that day. "Remus, I'm _sorry. _Really. I didn't mean to insult you or anything. I was just…just…yeah. Please, I really am sorry."

There was still silence. James leaned his head back on the door and closed his eyes. Remus had been one of his first friends here at Hogwarts, and he couldn't let him just walk away because of his big mouth. It had been two days since Remus had last spoken to him, and it was driving James up the wall.

The door opened suddenly and James fell backwards into the dormitory with a loud crash.

"Ouch!" he cried, rubbing his head.

Remus stood above him, his arms crossed, looking down at James with an indecipherable look on his tired-looking face.

James hurriedly sat up, slipping into a cross-legged position at the top of the stairs. He looked balefully up at Remus with what he hoped was a regretful expression.

"I'm sorry." he said again, this time with more emphasis. _"Really. _I didn't mean to make you mad."

Remus sighed. "Well…I guess I can forgive you just this once."

James let out a yelp of happiness and leapt to his feet, pounding Remus on his shoulder.

"You won't regret this!" he shouted, while Remus gasped and winced. "We're best friends, right? You, me, Sirius and Peter! We gotta stick together!"  
"R-right." Remus choked out, a reluctant smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "Right."

James let out another excited yell and dashed down the stairs to tell Sirius that he had reconciled with Remus. He burst into the common room to find the boy in question lounging in an armchair by the crackling fireplace, his legs thrown up over one arm of the plush chair. Although it was nearing the end of March, the weather outside was still bitterly cold and windy, bringing drafts of snow flinging into the season.

James hopped over a first year girl lounging on the floor and skidded to a halt in front of Sirius, who was reading a magazine.

"I made up with Remus!" he announced proudly.

Sirius glanced up from whatever he was reading and grinned. "Good." he said. "That's great. Now I won't have to listen to you whining all the time anymore."

James cuffed him round the side of his head. "Shut up, you. Now, we've got a lot to do and only a little time to do it. I think we need to practice some more. Gather up everybody."

Sirius gave a melodramatic sigh and hoisted himself out of the chair. "All right, all right, I'm going."

They spent the rest of the afternoon practicing defensive and offensive spells with the rest of Potter's Patrol. James thought it was a very enjoyable evening, indeed, and was quite pleased at the way things were turning out.

The next few weeks passed without much incident, with the exception of the ongoing feud between the two groups. Every once in a while there would be a loud crash or a cloud of smoke echoing down the massive, portrait-lined halls of Hogwarts, but never anything serious.

It was near the end of April and the beginning of May that James was finally able to admit that he was confident in his team's progress.

"All right," he announced at the end of a particularly successful meeting. "I think we're doing exceptionally well. Now, the date for the Destiny Duel has been set for the third of June. Anybody have a conflict with that?

When no one raised their hand, James continued. "Now, to win the battle, as we've said before, is to make the other team's members unable to fight. And we have to try to beat the other team without actually seriously hurting anyone else, because frankly, I don't what I'd do if I had to explain why Snivellus Snape went to the Hospital Wing because he had antlers sticking out of his head."

There was a wave of laughter. James felt considerably pleased with himself. Only a first year, and he had already done this much. He couldn't wait to see how it would be the rest of his six years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

"All right, you can all leave now. We'll practice again on Thursday." James waved goodbye to everyone as they all started ambling off in different directions. He turned back to his three friends excitedly.

"This is going brilliantly! I can't believe…hey, where's Remus?" he asked, noticing for the first time that only Sirius and Peter stood before him.

Sirius shrugged. "He said he wasn't feeling well and that he was going to go to bed early. He looked a bit peaky, so I didn't think he was just making it up."

James tapped a finger on the side of his head. "Have you ever noticed that Remus is sick around the same time every month?"

The two boys' blank looks made James sigh exasperatedly. "He's always looking tired or sick. I think he's got something wrong with him."

"You mean, like there's something wrong with your head?" Sirius snickered, and Peter laughed nervously, even as James cuffed Sirius on the side of his head. "Ow!"

"No, I mean it." He said. "I want to know what's up with him. Let's go wake him up."

Peter looked aghast. "No! W-we can't d-do that! You know how R-Remus gets when he's w-woken up!"

"I don't care. I need answers." James pushed his way past them and strode through the candlelit hallways and up to where the large pink framed Fat Lady sat guarding the entrance to the Gryffindor Common room.

"Password?" she yawned.

"Diadem." James said, and she swung forward to let them in.

At this time of evening, the common room was nearly empty of its usual frantic atmosphere. It wasn't that late, but as the next day was the Apparation test for the sixth years, and the O.W.L. testing for the fourth years, everyone had gone to bed early. There were a few late night stragglers still poring over notes and scrawling things on pieces of crumpled parchment.

James took the stairs two at a time up to the dormitory he shared with Sirius, James and Peter.

"Remus!" he said, bursting through the door. "Remus, where are you?"

He wrenched back the hangings around his friend's bed, only to find that the bed was still made from the morning and Remus was _not _in it.

"He's not here." James said, turning back to face Peter and Sirius, his hands on his hips. "And if he's not here, then where is he?"

Lost in various thoughts, James wandered around the room, tapping his chin thoughtfully. As he passed by the large window on one wall, a flash of movement caught his eye, and he pressed his face against the cool glass.

Through the deepening shadows of the rapidly approaching night, James saw a hooded figure running across the grounds in the direction of the enormous, odd-looking tree that James knew had only recently been planted. The figure's long gait and loping strides were what gave him away almost immediately.

"Aha." James said softly. Whirling around, he grabbed his cloak and threw it over his shoulders, tying it quickly.

"W-wait!" Peter said nervously. "W-where are you going?"

James grinned. "After Remus."

Peter looked horrified. "You can't do that! That's invading his privacy!"

James shrugged as he headed towards the stairs. Stopping at the top, he turned back to face his two best friends.

"Coming?" he asked, already sure of the answer.

Sirius grinned and grabbed his own cloak, following after James. Peter's groan was nearly inaudible, but a third set of footsteps confirmed that he too was going with them.

The trio managed to sneak their way down to the front hall without being spotted and slipped their way past the Caretaker until they were racing across the black school grounds after Remus.

They stopped in front of the gigantic tree just in time to see that something-or someone-had disappeared into what looked like a hole at the base of its trunk."There he goes!" James hissed, hurrying after, but before he had gotten within ten feet of the tree, something large and heavy slammed into his stomach, sending him flying backwards and landing rather painfully on the ground twenty feet away.

"Bloody…what the hell was that?" James sat up and rubbed a hand along his backside, where he had been tossed. He looked up to see that the tree-the _tree!_-was reeling backwards, one of its long, gnarled branches sweeping towards Sirius.

With a yell, Sirius leapt in time for the huge branch to go right under his feet, but the next branch smacked him in the shoulder, propelling him quite a distance to the left.

Peter gasped as he ducked to avoid a particularly nasty looking branch swinging in his direction.

"What the _hell is _this tree?" Sirius shouted.

"I-I think it's c-called a Whomping Willow!" Peter called, sounding panic-stricken. "They're s-supposed to be really d-deadly!"

"Oh this is-_arrgghh!_-nothing!" James yelled. The next time the huge branch swayed towards him, instead of shying away, James leapt towards it. He flung his arms around its twisted bark and held on for dear life as it swung and bucked.

He heard the cries of his friends somewhere below him, but James was too focused on keeping his life intact. Grasping the thick branches, he waited until the heavy arm reeled backwards and then he closed his eyes and let go.

James nearly broke his leg dropping that far. As it was, he twisted his ankle rather badly, but it still landed him right next to the base of the tree. He scrabbled around, looking for the hole, and when he found none, for an off switch or something.

After a few frantic seconds, James' hand landed on a small knot on the trunk. Instantly, the tree stopped moving. The boys stared in astonishment as every leaf, every branch, every twig became as still as a statue, not even wavering in the late evening wind.

"Well." James said. "That was…eventful."

He tried to stand and nearly passed out from the pain. Gritting his teeth, he pulled himself up right, but fell over almost immediately. He nearly toppled into the hole that had appeared next to the knot that stopped the tree.

"Hey," James called softly. "Over here."

Sirius and Peter walked over, Peter looking apprehensively over his shoulder at the motionless tree; Sirius nursing a nasty looking cut on his cheek.

James pointed to the hole. "There. I think it's a tunnel, of sorts."

Sirius knelt and peered into the impending blackness. "Yeah, I'd say so too. So, who's up for going in first?"

"Oh-oh no!" Peter squeaked. "I-I'm not going in t-there!"

Sirius just grinned and grabbed his arm. "Oh yes, you are."

"I'll go first." James volunteered.

Ignoring the pain shooting up his right leg, James stepped gingerly down into the darkness.

With a whoosh, James was knocked onto his back and with a strangled yell, was suddenly flying through the tunnel sitting down. He heard the surprised cries of the other two and knew they must have discovered that it wasn't as smooth as they expected.

He landed with a thump on a hard packed dirt floor. Pain ricocheted through him as his leg gave way and he collapsed. Within seconds, Peter and Sirius came shooting out after him, landing on top of him and knocking the wind out of him.

_"Ouch!"_

"Sorry, sorry!" Sirius said hastily, scrambling to his feet. "I didn't realize it was a slide down here!"

"S'all right." James winced as he stood up, but shook his head. "Where _is _this place?"

"I have no idea." The hallway they were now in was dusty and dark, but otherwise well-cleaned. It was a dirt floor, flanked on either side by securely nailed, thick plank boards. It was lit only by a single, small candle hovering in the air above them. James peered down the dim hallway and saw a closed door at the end.

He strained his ears. There was a peculiar whining noise coming from the other side of the door.

"Remus?" James called softly, limping down the hallway, Sirius and Peter close behind him. "Remus?"

The whining sound was growing louder as they neared the door. James could hear other sounds now, a frantic scrabbling noise and chairs scraping.

"Remus?" James paused for a moment, his hand on the door.

There was a loud bang. Then Remus's voice, labored and rough floated through the door.

"Get…out…"

"Remus, what's going on?" James turned the handle, but the door was locked from the inside. "Hey, let us in."

"Get…_OUT!"_

There was a tremendous crash. James leapt backwards involuntarily, Sirius catching him under the arms before he fell.

Struggling free, James pulled his wand from his pocket determinedly.

"No!" Peter cried, looking horrified. "No, you c-can't! You don't know w-what's b-behind that d-door!"

James glared at him. "All I know is that Remus is my best friend. I'm not going to leave without finding out what's going on."

With that, James raised his wand. _"EXPELLIARMUS!"_

It was a spell he had learned from one of the older students in the Potter Patrol, and although James had never used in real life, the resulting explosion was tremendous.

The door was burst open, almost flying off its hinges, and James was left, standing, staring into the room beyond.


End file.
